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Mat Fraser

Fraser was born with phocomelia of both arms, due to his mother being prescribed thalidomide during her pregnancy. As a live artist he was a member of the performance art group The DHSS in the early 1990s. He was included in Manuel Vason's book "Exposures" and has performed at numerous internationally renowned venues. He received considerable critical acclaim for his one-man show "Seal Boy". In 1999 he worked with the Hydra Collective on an event known as "Wrong Bodies" at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. As an actor he has performed with the "Graeae Theatre Company", Europe's leading disabled theatre company. He is the creator and main performer in a new play called Thalidomide!! A Musical. He also co-hosts the BBC's Ouch! Podcast.[1] Fraser has appeared on television both as a presenter and as an actor, in a number of productions including Metrosexuality and Every Time You Look at Me. He is also a martial artist having studied hapkido, taekwondo, Karate.[2][3] Fraser coined the use of term 'blacking up' to describe when an able-bodied actor plays the part of a disabled person rather than the part going to a disabled actor. The term was originally used to describe the controversial practice where non-black actors take on the characters of black people. Fraser illustrates his point in his song 'Blacking Up', which can be heard at his website. His new film Kung Fu Flid was released in 2009, starring Faye Tozer formerly of pop group Steps, Frank Harper and Terry Stone.